


Stars Are Falling

by sunshinexbomb



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Canon Compliant, Fluff, M/M, Wingfic, the better question is probably why not, why does niall have wings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-13
Updated: 2015-09-13
Packaged: 2018-04-20 14:18:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,026
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4790429
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sunshinexbomb/pseuds/sunshinexbomb
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Louis bites the corner of his lip, wondering what’s the best way to put to this. </p><p>“I think Niall has wings.”</p><p>It’s definitely not the best thing to say, apparently, because Liam’s face falls back into a scowl and he groans again, flopping back down onto his pillow.</p><p>“Goodnight, Louis.”</p><p>--</p><p>Or in which Louis thinks Niall might be an angel.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Stars Are Falling

**Author's Note:**

> This was supposed to be a fic for Niall's birthday based on a Tumblr post that read "I can't believe Niall fell from heaven 22 years ago," and turned into something that's...not that. Hope you enjoy anyway!
> 
> Thanks to [Husky](http://foundfamilyvevo.tumblr.com) for being a wonderful beta as always. All other mistakes are my own.
> 
> I do not own One Direction and this is clearly fictional (except for the part about Niall possibly angel - that's probably true). Title is from The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus' "Your Guardian Angel".

  
Louis’s seeing things. He must be. There’s no other logical option. Maybe he’s a bit sleep deprived or maybe he ate something odd at their last rest stop - Zayn did always used to tell him not to eat gas station food.  
   
Niall’s not spotted him yet, which is probably for the best. Louis’s still trying to wrap his head around what he saw. Or didn’t see. Or whatever. He feels a bit dizzy. Maybe he needs to sit down.  
   
“Louis!” Niall says brightly when he finally turns around. “Didn’t hear you come in.”  
   
“Um, yeah,” Louis says. “Mark gave me a key,” he explains, waving around the keycard in his hand a bit lamely.  
   
Niall sits down on his hotel room bed, patting the space next to him in invitation. Louis goes over to join him, his steps a bit more unsteady than he’d like them to be. His last few steps are a bit of a stumble, and he plops down next to Niall who’s looking at him in concern. Like always, Niall is warm next to him, feeling comfortable and familiar like a favorite blanket.  
   
“Are you okay, mate?” Niall asks. There’s a deep vertical line between his eyes from where he’s got his forehead scrunched up in concern. Louis’s always thought it was very cute.  
   
Louis shakes his head, clearing his thoughts. “Yeah, I’m fine.”  
   
Louis looks Niall up and down. He looks the same as he usually does, dressed down in a soft t-shirt and tight, ripped jeans. His hair’s down, fluffy across his forehead, and he smells fresh and clean like hotel soap and warm cotton.  
   
Most importantly, there’s no sign of the bright white wings protruding from Niall’s back that Louis had seen when he’d first walked into the room.  
   
“Are you sure?” Niall asks again. He places a hand on Louis’s thigh. It feels just like Niall’s hand always does, gentle and calming. Louis must have imagined it. It was probably a trick of the light or something. There’s no need for him to get so shaken up over it.  
   
“Yeah, I’m brilliant,” Louis promises, leaning his head on Niall’s shoulder.  
   
Niall relaxes into Louis, pulling him in closer by his waist, and Louis sinks into his touch.  
   
\--  
   
It happens again.  
   
They’re backstage this time, just before the show in Montreal. Liam’s talking to Sophia on the phone with that doe-eyed expression of his he gets sometimes and Harry’s off doing whatever weird p rituals Harry partakes in these days. Louis’s bored, that anxiety he always feels before a show starting to set into his bones that makes him restless and fidgety.  
   
He goes looking for Niall. Niall’s been a calming force these days, something constant and stable as everything seems to get more and more hectic with the end of the tour just around the bend.  
   
The door to their dressing room is closed, and Louis doesn’t bother knocking. He opens the door, walking in with a, “Neil -!” before he freezes.  
   
They’re there again. The white wings. Big and fluffy and most definitely there.  
   
Louis blinks and they’re gone.  
   
“Hi, Lou, what’s up?” Niall asks, his usual smile spread across his face.  
   
Niall’s sitting on the couch, hunched over his phone. He’s only half-dressed, his jeans hugging the curves of his legs and no shirt on. Niall’s looking a little tanner than usual, but the freckles on his back still stand out starkly against his skin. Louis can count the knobs of his spine, can make out the defined muscles of his arms and shoulders. But none of this is unusual. Nothing out of the ordinary. There are no wings.  
   
“Just wondering where you are,” Louis manages to get out. His throat’s oddly dry and scratchy the way it gets on stage when he’s poured all of his water on Liam’s head and not saved any to drink for himself.  
   
“Been here this whole time,” Niall says with a shrug.  
   
Niall doesn’t invite Louis to sit down this time, instead going back to his phone and leaving Louis confused, his restlessness and anxiety suddenly multiplied tenfold. Louis wonders if he can hallucinate the same thing twice. Because that’s what it has to be, right? There’s no way it could be anything else.  
   
But, no. Louis knows what he saw. It may not be possible, but he _saw_ it. Twice. Niall with white wings like some literal angel. Louis feels dizzy again just like he did that first day.  
   
Niall doesn’t look up when Louis falls onto the couch next to him, but he does move closer so their thighs are pressed together. It’s grounding for Louis, comforting in a way he didn’t think it would be when Niall is the reason his heart is pounding loudly in his ears and his head is spinning absolutely out of control.  
   
But like always, Niall is there, strong and solid. Louis’s not sure what he saw or what he imagined or whatever, but it’s still Niall next to him, and he doesn’t think anything will ever change how his presence makes him feel.  
   
\--  
   
The day after the show, Louis does what he always does when there’s something bothering him. He goes to Liam.  
   
Early in the morning, Louis gets a keycard to Liam’s room off of Paddy because Louis doesn’t believe in knocking. He used to spend the majority of his time in a bus with these lads - boundaries are non-existent.  
   
Liam’s still fast asleep, face pressed against his pillow and breathing deeply and slowly, when Louis sneaks quietly into his room. Louis has urgent things to discuss, though, so he pays Liam’s need for sleep no mind, jumping onto his bed and whisper-yelling, “Payno!” right into Liam’s ear.  
   
Liam startles with a grunt, blinking up at Louis with sleepy eyes and heavy scowl. “Louis, what the fuck? Do you know what time it is?”  
  
“It’s time to wake up,” Louis insists, bouncing just enough on the mattress to jostle Liam around.  
   
“It’s time to go back to sleep,” Liam groans, burying his face in his pillow.  
   
Louis shakes his head. He has things he has to talk about. Liam’s not allowed to sleep.  
   
“Liam, no, I need to talk to you about something. It’s important.”  
   
There must be something in serious in Louis’s voice because Liam sighs, rolling over and wiping the sleep from his eyes. He sits up, yawning loudly and the sheets pooling in his lap as he stretches out his back and shoulders.  
   
“What is it then, Lou?” Liam asks finally when he looks a bit more awake and alert.  
   
Louis bites the corner of his lip, wondering what’s the best way to put to this.  
   
“I think Niall has wings.”  
   
It’s definitely not the best thing to say, apparently, because Liam’s face falls back into a scowl and he groans again, flopping back down onto his pillow.  
   
“Goodnight, Louis.”  
   
“Liam, I’m serious!” Louis exclaims, pulling on Liam’s arm insistently. “Niall has wings! I saw them!”  
   
“You were probably dreaming,” Liam mumbles, already snuggling back under his duvet. “Or like, high. Or tired. Or something, Louis, I don’t know.”  
   
“Liam, no. I know what I saw. They were there. Big white wings. I saw them twice. I haven’t smoked up in ages and there’s no way I can hallucinate the same thing twice, is there? Liam, Niall’s like an angel or something, I swear.”  
   
Louis doesn’t need to hear Liam’s soft laugh to realize the words coming tumbling out of his mouth sound absolutely ridiculous.  
   
“I think you just need more sleep, mate,” Liam says, words slurring together slightly as he starts to drift off again.  
   
Louis sighs deeply, lying down also as Liam falls back to sleep. He can feel the beginning of a headache pushing against his skull and he rubs his eyes tiredly. There’s nothing Louis wants more than to believe Liam’s assurances, but he’s still not sure if he can.  
   
\--  
   
Louis’s never thought too much about heaven. His family was never the church type. They’d go during Christmas and Easter and that was about it. He doesn’t know if angels are real, and he’s never considered the possibility that they were.  
   
Louis figures if anyone was an angel, though, it makes sense that it’d be Niall. He wonders if that’s why Niall always shines so bright, like he has his own ethereal light around him. He wonders if that why Niall reminds him of warmth and safety and comfort.  
   
Niall’s on the far end of the stage, leaning against Liam and laughing about something that Louis obviously can’t hear over Harry’s rambling speech and the screaming of tens of thousands of teenage girls. His face is scrunched up and his are eyes squinted and Louis feels something expand in his chest. It feels hot like a flame and it consumes every inch of him the longer he stares at Niall and his bright eyes and bright smile and his naturally bright light.  
   
Even if Niall’s not an angel, he’s the closest thing to one Louis’s ever seen.  
   
\--  
   
It’s easier if Louis doesn’t think about it. He shoves it to the back of his mind for the next couple of days, focuses on the show and the tour, and tries to avoid Niall when he can. If Louis’s being honest it’s a bit awful, really. Avoiding anyone on tour is difficult, but avoiding Niall is nearly impossible when Louis seems to gravitate towards him most days anyway.  
   
Niall’s always been perceptive, more so than the others, Louis thinks. It doesn’t take long for him to notice that Louis’s been clutching onto Liam more than usual, and it feels like a punch to the gut every time Louis sees Niall’s face close up when they get too close and Louis forces himself to turn the other direction. Niall doesn’t seem as bright as usual and Louis has a sinking suspicion that he might have something to do with it.  
   
Their last day in North America is in Boston and Louis spends every moment backstage acting like a complete menace. He’s completely buzzing with pent up energy and no outlet for it now that Niall’s not there to lean on.  
   
He’s in the middle of a food fight with Liam when he ducks into the dressing room, expecting it to be empty and a safe place to hide out while he rethinks his tactics. Louis locks the door after he comes in, leaning his back against it with his eyes closed and taking a second to catch his breath.  
   
When he opens his eyes, Louis lets out a startled yelp.  
   
Niall’s dozing on the sofa, head tilted back and mouth open slightly. He’s shirtless again, his boot taken off and his injured foot propped up in front of him.  
   
His wings are out.  
   
Louis’s rooted to his spot, head going fuzzy for a second. He blinks. The wings are still there, dazzling white with elegant, soft, silky feathers. They’re large, the span of them probably greater than that of Niall’s arms, but they’re curled in at the moment, like Niall’s blanketing himself in with them.  
   
“Bloody hell,” is the first thing that stumbles out of Louis’s mouth when he’s finally found his voice, loud and brash and surprising even to himself.  
   
Niall jumps a little at the sound of Louis’s voice, his wings giving a surprised flutter, and when he spots Louis still standing with his back pressed against the door, Niall freezes, eyes turning wide.  
   
“Fuck,” Niall says bluntly.  
   
They’re both staring at each other, Niall and Louis, like neither are sure what to do next. Niall’s wings are still fluttering anxiously and they remind Louis of the way his leg bounces up and down during televised interviews. It’s an oddly familiar gesture, so, so very _Niall_ , that Louis relaxes a bit.  
   
“I knew I wasn’t going crazy,” Louis says finally. “Niall, you have fucking wings.”  
   
Niall shrugs, wings lifting along with his shoulders. His face is cool, calm and closed-off, but he’s scratching his nails harshly along the fabric of his jeans. Louis feels a surge of over-protectiveness, a need to be closer so he can hold Niall’s hand and assure him that whatever’s wrong will be okay.  
   
Louis begins to take a step forward but Niall’s wings suddenly curl closer to him, caging him in, and Louis freezes.  
   
“Niall -” Louis says softly, but he’s cut off quickly.  
   
“Don’t,” Niall says, voice catching thickly in his throat. He laughs, the sound harsh and scared and nothing like the rich, warm sound Louis’s used to. “Fuck, you aren’t supposed to - this isn’t supposed to - just, fuck.”  
   
Louis hates this. He hates the twisting in his gut and the way Niall’s face opens up only to turn pale and scared. Scared of Louis.  
   
“Are you an angel?” Louis asks, voice small and quiet.  
   
Niall lets out another laugh, more startled this time. He shakes his head. “No, ‘fraid not. That’d be pretty sick, huh? I’d probably sing better if I was.”  
   
“You sing perfectly fine,” Louis says sharply and mostly out of habit.  
   
Niall gives a small, crooked smile, but he’s got his arms wrapped around himself, wings still curled in protection. He looks tiny and vulnerable, all soft edges. Louis realizes he doesn’t care what Niall is, that it doesn’t matter because he’s still Niall. Still bright and warm and beautiful even in his fear and anxiety.  
   
“This is still fucking sick, by the way,” Louis adds, softer. “Like, absolutely wicked.”  
   
Louis starts to move closer again, relief flooding him when neither Niall nor his wings stop him. He stops in front of Niall, not knowing what to do next. He’s given an answer, though, when Niall’s wings open a bit more freely and Niall pats the spot on the sofa next him in invitation.  
   
Niall’s still a bit stiff when Louis sits down, squirming uncomfortably under Louis’s look of awe.  
   
“Did you really think you were going crazy?” Niall asks finally.  
   
“Thought I was bloody mental,” Louis says, shaking his head. He grins when Niall gives a soft giggle. “Even tried to talk to Liam about this and he told me I needed to get more sleep. Then I started avoiding you because I thought if I didn’t see you then I wouldn’t have to think about it. I’ve been going completely insane.”  
   
“Sorry I didn’t like, say anything. Didn’t really know how you all would react. Not like this is very normal, is it?” Niall says, wincing a little at the end.  
   
“I think it’s brilliant,” Louis says sincerely. “God, do you realize how beautiful you look, Niall? Like, can you blame me for thinking you’re an angel?”  
   
Niall’s cheeks turn a faint pink, and he ducks his head, but his wings give an excited flutter that warms Louis’s tummy.  
   
“Shut up,” Niall replies, laughing more freely now. Louis’s never been more happy to hear the sound.  
   
“Can I touch them?” Louis asks. He can feel the wings fluttering around him, tickling his arms softly, but he wants to feel them against his fingers, wants to know if Niall can feel his touch there just as solidly as he can when they’re pressed together on stage or cuddled up in overly large hotel beds.  
   
Niall nods and Louis beams. He runs his fingers softly over the wing closest to him, marvelling at the downy feel of them against his skin. Niall gives a light shiver and Louis notices goosepimples on his skin.  
   
“Sensitive?” Louis asks, stroking a bit harder when Niall lets out a soft, “yeah,” that turns into a moan at Louis’s touch.  
   
A different kind of heat pools in Louis’s belly and he stops, staring at Niall curiously. Niall looks disappointed at the loss of contact, and his eyes are dark, trained on Louis almost expectantly.  
   
Louis barely thinks about it when he leans in to kiss Niall. Niall groans happily, his mouth soft and warm and opening up easily for Louis’s tongue. Louis places one of his hands on Niall’s shoulder, scrambling to straddle his lap so he can kiss Niall more easily. Niall’s wings come around the both of them, shielding them in, and Niall shivers when Louis runs his fingers through the feathers just behind Niall’s shoulder blades.  
   
When they part, Louis rests his forehead against Niall’s, their noses brushing softly and Niall’s wings practically humming around them in content. Niall’s breathing deeply, bare chest rising and falling visibly, and Louis kisses him again just once, a small press of his smile against Niall’s.  
   
“Hey, can you fly?” Louis asks, grinning in excitement. He feels high, giddy, like that first rush of stepping on stage and looking out at a crowd of 80,000 people and knowing they’re all there to see him.  
   
“No,” Niall says, laughing. “I mean I sort of can, but it doesn’t work that well. That’s um, sort of how I fractured my foot,” he admits, smiling a bit sheepishly.  
   
“Brilliant,” Louis says. “You’re a legend, Neil.”  
   
Niall laughs again, more loudly, before leaning forward and stealing another kiss from Louis. Louis leans into him and wonders why he’s never done this before. Kissing Niall is easy, effortless. Kissing Niall is probably better than flying.  
   
“This really isn’t weird?” Niall asks more seriously, tightening the grip he has on Louis’s hips.  
   
“I mean, I’m not going to lie, it’s a bit strange,” Louis admits, “but I love it, yeah? You’re like my personal guardian angel or something.”  
   
“I think I like that,” Niall hums, soft, lazy smile on his face.  
   
Niall’s shining again, a bright glow that Louis’s missed. He truly looks ethereal and brilliant, but he’s warm and solid underneath Louis, a steady, grounding force. Louis feels more drawn to him than ever before and he tucks this feeling away deep in his chest as a reminder for whenever he feels the reckless energy he gets when he’s been away from Niall for too long. He leans into Niall, arms enveloping him and face tucking into his neck, and he breathes deeply as Niall’s wings circle more tightly around the both of them.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! Comments and kudos are of course appreciated!
> 
> If you want to come cry about Niall with me, I can be found on Twitter at [@sunshinexbomb](http://twitter.com/sunshinexbomb) or on Tumblr at [singledadniall](http://singledadniall.tumblr.com).


End file.
